1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an animal feed supplement and, in particular, to a solid animal feed supplement.
2. Brief Statement of the Prior Art
Molasses has been used for many years as an animal feed supplement together with additives such as phosphoric acid and feed nutrients such as urea, fats, and the like. Solid materials such as cottonseed meal have also been suspended in the molasses; however, difficulties have been experienced with maintaining a stable suspension of solid materials. The liquid materials have been fed by application to fodder or by free choice feeding on lick-wheels.
Recently, attempts have been made to provide the supplements in solid form, thereby permitting free choice feeding by the animals and reducing the labor and expense in feeding the supplement. Some blocks have been manufactured by compressing the ingredients into a molded shape or by evaporative heating of the molasses to crystallize the sugars. It has also been proposed to add relatively high amounts of calcium or magnesium hydroxide to molasses to prepare a solid feed block; see British Pat. No. 1,356,954 of June 19, 1974. A recently patented technique provides a far more flexible solidification technique which avoids the difficulties and expenses of the aforementioned methods by the addition of a soluble phosphate and, preferably, calcium oxide or a soluble calcium salt to molasses to convert the molasses into a gelled solid; see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,027,043, and 4,160,041. The methods and products disclosed in the aforementioned patents have been used commercially by packaging of the product in cardboard cartons.
These products are intended for free choice or managed feeding. Unfortunately, in some free choice feeding situations, animals tend to overconsume the highly palatable molasses blocks and appetite suppressants such as salt are often necessary ingredients. U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,818 discloses a novel solution; corrugated cardboard dividers are embedded in the solid to obstruct the feeding efforts of the animals.
Magnesium oxides have been included in feed supplements such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,171,385 and 4,171,386 and in New Zealand Patent Specification No. 170,505 published Aug. 14, 1974. Magnesium is a desirable ingredient since it is effective in prevention of grass tetany and acidosis and has been found to increase milk production of dairy cattle when fed at appropriate levels. While the aforesaid patents disclose that high contents of magnesium oxide solidify molasses into lick blocks, it has been found that the solidification is slow and that the blocks which are formed are often too soft to limit their consumption and thus may require an additional appetite suppressant.